Barbara Lippert's Critique

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It was the death of a corporate executive, but somehow it felt more like a death in the family. I never met Dave Thomas. But like thousands of pilgrims who flocked to pay their respects at Wendy’s restaurants and headquarters last week, I felt that I knew him—through his commercials.

His television success was extraordinary and contradictory. A warm guy in a cool medium, he stood out for his squareness, all elbows and forearms emerging from a dumpy drip-dry shirt.

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